Tributes for Sarah Payne's father

Tributes have been paid to the father of murdered schoolgirl Sarah Payne after he was found dead at his home.

Police are not treating the death of Michael Payne, 45, as suspicious after his body was discovered on Monday.

The tragic end of Mr Payne in Brishing Lane, Maidstone, Kent, followed years of struggling with his “demons”, according to relatives and associates.

He had battled against an alcohol problem after eight-year-old Sarah was abducted and killed by paedophile Roy Whiting in West Sussex in 2000.

Mr Payne split from his wife Sara in 2003 after 18 years together, with both of them blaming the pressure of coping with the loss of their cherished daughter.

As messages of condolence flowed in, their daughter Charlotte posted a picture of Mr Payne on Facebook alongside a message saying she was “heartbroken”.

“No matter what happened and how many mistakes we all made. You will always be my daddy,” she wrote.

She later added: “I’m sorry I couldn’t save you dad. I hope you have finally found your peace and happiness.”

Her brother Lee wrote: “Dad, you had your demons and troubles but you had a good heart and was a decent man!

“I hope now you have found peace at last! RIP, you will be missed. We are all heartbroken.”

In a message to her 3,745 followers on Twitter, Mrs Payne said: “thank you all for your kindness” and “understanding”.

Fellow child protection campaigner Shy Keenan, a close friend of Mrs Payne, wrote: “Sara thanks you all (more than she can say right now) for your love, kindness and understanding at this very painful time in their lives.

“Sara wants to be left alone to care for her grief-stricken family and respectfully requests that the media leave her and her children alone.”

Ex-senior detective Martyn Underhill, the deputy senior investigating officer with Sussex Police during the Sarah Payne inquiry, said Mr Payne could “walk with Sarah now”.

Mr Underhill, now the police and crime commissioner (PCC) for Dorset, said: “I was honoured to have known him. He battled his demons.

“But all he ever wanted to do was to see his daughter again. When Sarah went, it destroyed Michael as well.”

Whiting was convicted of the abduction and murder of Sarah on December 12 2001 at Lewes Crown Court in East Sussex and sentenced to life imprisonment.

Sarah, who lived in Hersham, Surrey, disappeared on the evening of July 1 2000 from a cornfield near the home of her paternal grandparents, Terence and Lesley Payne.

Her body was found on July 17 in a field near Pulborough, some 15 miles from Kingston Gorse where she had disappeared.

Speaking at the time about their marriage split, Mrs Payne spoke about the difficulties the couple had with coping with Sarah’s loss.

She told the News Of The World: ”We know we’re not the same people we once were – and everyone knows the awful reason why.”

Mr Payne told the newspaper he felt guilty for being unable to protect his daughter and said this had put strain on his marriage.

Three years ago Mr Payne was jailed after pleading guilty to glassing his brother Stephen following a heavy drinking session.

Sentencing him at Maidstone Crown Court, Judge Jeremy Carey said he had the ”deepest sympathy” for the loss of his daughter but the offence warranted a jail sentence.

Speaking after the jail term for Whiting was reduced from 50 to 40 years in 2010, Mr Payne said the decision was ”outrageous”.

”He didn’t deserve a reduction but he won’t be coming out,” he said.

An inquest is expected to be opened into Mr Payne’s death next week, the office for Mid Kent and Medway coroner Patricia Harding said.

A Kent Police spokesman said: “The death is not being treated as suspicious. A report will be prepared for the coroner.”

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Tributes for Sarah Payne's father